“The DRC produces about 63% of the world’s cobalt, with about 80% from industrial copper mines, and the remaining 20% gathered by artisanal mining.” Wikipedia

Work colleagues and myself went to Lubumbashi in August 2025. We also drove to Kolwezi for a few days.

Departure

We left Kinshasa with Air Congo. There was the usual confusion at the airport. We got bothered by random people in the car park who wanted to help us get to the boarding gate. We ignored them and ended up at the wrong terminal!

Indeed, Air Congo have their own terminal. If you travel with CAA it’s the old domestic terminal.

We were in a small crowd pushing each other to get through the main door. One by one we were painfully let through by a security guard to a manual baggage check and weighing. Obviously, some passengers or VIP protocol agents tried and succeeded to cut in by shouting in Lingala and pretending to be important and shocked.

After queuing, we made it to the check in counter. Some colleagues were still getting their bags checked. I just got assigned a random seat. No way to sit together.

At security, some asked for some francs. “Un café” patron.

Once through that, we got a passport control, even though it is a domestic flight. The same is done in Lubumbashi. Go figure.

Lubumbashi

The Lubumbashi airport is quite small. The baggage area is a disaster with hundreds of people squashed in a tiny room waiting for their bags to come onto a carousel. You have to push and shove to see the belt. Then wait either fifteen minutes, an hour or two until you see your bags. You can ask one of the dozens of baggage helpers to get your bag for you but that may take even longer! Just waiting until the crowd thins out is probably the best way to do it.

We drove around town. We checked out the new buildings (Novotel Hotel, the upcoming Miroir mall, new restaurants and fancy shopping complexes, a new pizzeria Pizza and Pasta 🍝, etc…) but what we really noticed was all the nice roads. That may have been the biggest surprise ! Roads are in much better conditions here than in Kinshasa! All the way to Kolwezi, we noticed really good roads. Potholes were there but not nearly as many as in Kinshasa.

Kolwezi aka “Guangwezi”

After a few days in Lubumbashi we went to Kolwezi.

What strikes you as you arrive is the number of billboards in Mandarin. Huge billboards for Chinese speakers. Even companies are mentioned in Mandarin characters. In Lubumbashi, some restaurants and casinos only had Mandarin signs! If you didn’t know how to read it, you’d be unable to pronounce it!

Another big difference with Kinshasa is how clean both cities are. Kolwezi as well. It has a very strict municipality. The governor is called “La femme de fer”. They force businesses to stay closed two mornings a week to clean up 🧹 . They call it “SALONGO”. Something Mobutu used to enforce as well on Saturdays. You’re fined if you don’t do it.

The drive was very pleasant compared to the one from Kinshasa to Matadi. No crazy traffic. Government agents and police were courteous and professional.

Unfortunately there were road tax officials checking all cars on random roads in Kolwezi. It created some traffic but was never too long. Our papers were all in order luckily and we were let through. This happened 3 or 4 times in the couple of days there.

Kolwezi is quite a bit more expensive than Lubumbashi. There’s a rental and food inflation due to the large number of people, foreign and from other provinces that want to work there. Mining companies drive demand and can afford the higher prices.

There is a cobalt export ban at the moment which may contribute to a slight slowdown of the local economy.

Our drive back to Lubumbashi was also straightforward. We stopped in Likasi.

Likasi was like a little Switzerland according to my grandmother who visited it in the 60s. Today it’s a small town with a little activity. And good for those who want to break their trip to Lubumbashi or Kolwezi.

I recommend trying to get into the Likasi Golf Club. It’s frozen in time. The last year it had members was in 2019. There was a security guard but he let us in provided we pay him a negotiated entry fee (from 20 to 10 usd).

Apparently you can still rent golf clubs and play the course. The fairways don’t look bad. The bunkers are quite hard. The greens are just scorey, an asphalt type of sand that compresses well. It is a full 18 hole course with a colonial style clubhouse. There is a chalkboard for displaying competition scores and a notice board with a few documents exposed with member communications. The last documents are dated 2019 and 2021, 4 years ago.

We were suggested by a Likasi golfer who was there to go to the restaurant LaScala for lunch. It was across the road of the golf.

We found an old colonial type building that was once a hotel. At the bar, there was a photo of the Greek owner who passed away 5 years ago. The inside was rustic and with character. Wood and old statues lined the back of the bar. Two patrons sat in a corner. There was a terrace next to a wood fired pizza oven. The pizzas were surprisingly good. The waiter had been there for more than 20 years. The restaurant was established in 1992 according to the waiter.

After that, we made it to Lubumbashi.

I’m now at the end of my trip here. Truly a worthwhile visit and a lot more to discover on, hopefully, future trips.

If you’re in Kolwezi, I recommend the restaurant/bar Chez Olga, an enjoyable place with good Congolese food and a relaxed ambiance. The music is a bit loud but what Congolese bar isn’t!

One of the big pluses of this place, as a golfer is the Lubumbashi golf course. An absolute gem 💎 that changes the whole experience. Hopefully it will keep existing and raising the standard of the sport in the country.

Check out the photos below of my trip

See you soon!

Thank you for reading! Leave a comment and what you’d like to know about the DRC!